Interfaces conformational mechanisms

At least two of the recognized mechanisms for the formation of electrical double layers (Hunter, elal. 1981 Russel etal., 1989) are relevant to LB film depositions (1) ionization of carboxylic acid group and amphoteric acid groups on solid surfaces, and (2) differences between the affinities of two phases for ions or ionizable species. The latter mechanism includes the uneven distribution of anions and cations between two immiscible phases, the differential adsorption of ions from an electrolyte solution to a solid surface, and the differential solution of one ion over the other from a crystal lattice. Since the solid-liquid and the film-liquid interfaces are flat, large surfaces and since both have a large, solid-like concentration, the analysis that follows applies to both interfaces. For an interface conformed by a thin film of an amphiphilic compound with the hydrophilic end of the molecule in contact with the water subphase, the equilibrium of charges is based on pH and subphase concentration. The effect of pH is highlighted by the definition of the of the carboxylic acid ... 

Even though the iron atoms are separated in haemoglobin by about 25 A, communication between them is still able to occur and this has been postulated to involve a trigger mechanism (Perutz, 1971). The trigger is the movement of the proximal histidine as dioxygen binds to (or is released from) the Fe(n) and results in interconversion between the T and R structures. This movement causes a conformational change which is transmitted through the protein to the other iron sites. X-ray studies indicate that relative shifts of up to 6 A at subunit interfaces occur between the T and R states (Perutz, 1978). 

The remaining problem of the molecular mechanisms of this action was judged to be related to the conformation of the dicarboxylic acid at the interface. This conformation is usually determined directly with the use of a Langmuir trough (16-18). The disadvantage of such a method for the present problem lies with the restrictions of the environment of the molecule to be Investigated. The basic requirement is that the molecule must be virtually insoluble in the liquid substrate on which the monolayer is supported. For the dicarboxylic acid in question, this meant a pH value as low as 2 and also a high electrolyte content in the aqueous substrate. 

The nature of bonding is not only dependent on the atomic arrangement, molecular conformation and chemical constitution of the fiber and matrix, but also on the morphological properties of the fiber and the diffusivity of elements in each constituent. It follows therefore that the interface is specific to each fiber-matrix system (Kim and Mai, 1991). Adhesion in general can be attributed to mechanisms including, but not restricted to, adsorption and wetting, electrostatic attraction. 

New glycolipids have to be synthesized to get further insights into liquid crystal properties (mainly lyotropic liquid crystals), surfactant properties (useful in the extraction of membrane proteins), and factors that govern vesicle formation, stability and tightness. New techniques have to be perfected in order to allow to make precise measurements of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of binding in 3D-systems and to refine those already avalaible with 2D-arrays. Furthermore, molecular mechanics calculations should also be improved to afford a better modeling of the conformations of carbohydrates at interfaces, in relation with physical measurements such as NMR. 

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